This is the Baby, and Yes, Those are Teeth | Ez a csecsemő, és igen, ezek fogak

“This is the baby, and yes, those are teeth. They are not important. Don’t think about them. Nothing special, this baby with teeth. Usually it is only a snaggletooth, a single, perfectly formed tooth in the tiny mouth, unlike the full set on this baby.”
Why am I writing about a baby with a full set of teeth? I am not. Just like the author of this short story: The Choir Director Affair (The Baby’s Teeth), Kevin Wilson is not writing about it, yet he starts this story with the sentences above. Genius. One of the best ever opening for a short story. Kevin Wilson and his book of short stories called: Tunneling to the Center of the Earth is my newest discovery in contemporary American literature. I think I am ready for one of his novels next.
https://www.wilsonkevin.com

Now that I have your attention (thanks, Baby with the Teeth!) let me tell you about all that has happened since my last post. Huntsville Symphony played its first Classical show of the season on January 9, and we have just played our second one this past Saturday. Audiences are very appreciative of us producing live shows, and – despite all the inconveniences of COVID 19 safety measures – our musicians are very happy to play in front of a live audience. We are ready to play our first Casual Classic show with Schubert’s Symphony No.5 on the program at the newest music venue in town called Mars Music Hall. I believe that Schubert’s music (what a coincidence, his 224th Birthday is TODAY!) is a perfect fit to a place that in normal circumstances serves alcohol and lets people dance while listening to their favorite bands.
On January 16th UMZE Ensemble put on a live stream show at the Budapest Music Center – as part of the Transparent Sound Festival – with Schoenberg’s famous (and perskap infamous) Pierrot Lunaire and a matching piece commissioned by the ensemble for this occasion. Daniel Dinyes – to the words of one of the most famous Hungarian poets, Lajos Parti Nagy – created a set of songs for soprano and baritone and named it “Hungarian Pierrot”. The concert had viewers in the several hundreds and even the after concert Zoom-Meet-The-Audience (I love this idea!) had around 40 people joining in. We have received many very positive reviews and an overall great response to the production.
After my week with UMZE Ensemble I traveled to Szombathely in South-West Hungary to conduct a full concert at the helm of the Savaria Symphony, that was also being done with no live audience but with live stream on many different platforms. On the program we had Prince Igor Overture by Borodin (completed and partly orchestrated by Glazunov), Bartók’s 2nd Piano Concerto with Zoltan Fejervari as the soloist, and Dvorak’s Symphony No.8.
Here is an American review of Fejervari, this wonderful, young talent.
https://www.washingtonpost.com

As this project was going on I received a call from the Hungarian Radio asking if I was able to step in and conduct their orchestra and chorus in yet another live stream, this time from the Liszt Academy in Budapest. It was supposed to be a concert conducted by Jose Cura, but he was unable to travel from Spain. After a few changes the concert program ended up being: Górecki: Symphony No.3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) and Kodály: Psalmus Hungaricus (Hungarian Psalm). This was a somewhat unusual but very appropriate program to be played on international Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since this concert was more like a ritual and less like a usual classical show, and since there was no live audience, I decided not to take bows with the soloists, the chorus and the orchestra. Instead we just waited after both pieces, then left the stage in silence.
The COVID 19 situation has produced very different results around the world. Certain countries and cities have just shut down all cultural activities, others are trying to maintain live performing arts in different, and – as much as possible – safe, formats. The Górecki-Kodály concert was the first time when I did not feel like the applause was missing at the end of the performance. Also the “Hungarian Pierrot” stream has taught me a lot about how very engaged audiences can be in unusual circumstances, and that there might actually be upsides to live streaming a show. The best of all worlds would, of course, be the mix of live and virtual audience-experience for each and every performing arts performance in the future.

„Ez a csecsemő, és igen, ezek fogak. De nem fontos, ne is gondolj rájuk. Semmi különös, ez a csecsemő fogakkal. Általában csak egy szál ferde tejfogacska, egy tökéletes alakú fog a kis szájban, nem olyan mint ennek a babának a teljes fogsora.”
A fenti idézet legújabb kortárs-amerikai irodalmi kedvencem, Kevin Wilson egyik történetének kezdete, és ahogy a szerző, úgy én is azért indítottam ezzel, hogy erős felütése legyen a szövegnek. Wilson története sem a bébi fogakról szól, bár ez a szál is folyamatosan jelen van az elejétől a végéig. Úgy néz ki, magyarul (még) csak az alábbi Wilson regény érhető el.
https://www.libri.hu
Én mindenesetre várom már, hogy angolul, novellái után valamelyik regényét is elolvassam.

Akkor most, hogy már felkeltettem az olvasó érdeklődését (köszi bébi fogak!) elmesélem, mi történt legutóbbi blog-posztom óta. Január 9-i idei első klasszikus koncertünk után tegnap volt a második, és a Huntsville-i muzsikusok és a közönség is – a COVID 19 biztonsági előírások kényelmetlenségei ellenére – nagyon értékelik azt, hogy a zenekar az élő koncertek folytatása mellett döntött. Jövő vasárnap játsszuk Schubert V. szimfóniáját Casual Classics sorozatunk keretében, ezúttal a Mars Music Hall-ban, amely nemrég nyílt meg, és ahol általában rock, jazz vagy bluegrass koncerteket tartanak. Schubert (akinek tegnap volt a 224. születésnapja!) sem fog lemaradni a népszerűségben, ebben biztos vagyok.
Január folyamán a tervek szerint megvalósult az UMZE “Bemutatom Pierrot-t” live stream-je a BMC-ből, amely koncert nagy és igen pozitív sajtó- és közönség-visszhangot váltott ki. Életemben először vettem részt – az Átlátszó Hang Fesztivál szervezőinek köszönhetően – egy ZOOM-on megvalósuló közönségtalálkozón. Meglepetésemre és örömömre több mint negyvenen vettek részt a koncert után még egy órán át tartó virtuális összejövetelen.
Fejérvári Zoltán játszotta Bartók II. zongoraversenyének szóló szólamát a Savaria Syimfonikusokkal egy héttel később. A Filharmünia által szervezett, több platformon is megtekinthető live stream-en eljátszottuk még az Igor herceg nyitányt Borogyintól (Glazunov változtatásaival) és Dvorák VIII. szimfóniáját. A rákövetkező héten a Magyar Rádió Zenei Együtteseinek kérésére beugrottam Jose Cura helyett a zeneakadémiai bérletes hangverseny élő közvetítésébe (Cura Spanyolországban ragadt, állítólag nem a COVID hanem a hóhelyzet miatt), ja igen, nem kellett énekelnem, „csak” vezényelnem. 🙂 Ez volt az első alkalom, hogy nem zavart a közönség hiánya, és az előadás után elmaradó taps. A Nemzetközi Holokauszt Emléknap estéjén Górecki III. szimfóniája és Kodály Psalmus Hungaricus-a után meghajlás nélkül, teljes csöndben hagytuk el a színpadot, ami érzésem szerint csak hozzájárult a darabok hatásához, és az alkalomhoz illő megemlékezéshez.

A Górecki-Kodály est, valamint az Átlátszó Hang Fesztivál ötletes online közönségtalálkozója győzött meg végképp arról, hogy az online stream-eknek, és egyéb, csak az internet segítségével megvalósítható kiegészítő eseményeknek köszönhetően a jövőben az élő, közönség előtti hangversenyek dimenziója jó irányba kiterjeszthető. A technológia ereje nem az élő élmény helyettesítésében, hanem annak gazdagításában van.

Year In, Year Out / Évvégére

Year in, year out there is the mandatory food coma of the Christmas Holidays. No matter how hard one tries, family always wins over scale-scare. Hungarian cuisine is hard on your stomach even when it is not the most important Holiday of the year.

After conducting two shows with the Savaria Symphony on December 6&7 (it was an interesting Hungarian program with music by Bartók, Kodály, Viski including my own Duevoe for orchestra) I went into administration mode (lots to get done at the end of the calendar year), then into Holiday shopping/ family-visiting mode. Administration duties included several meetings related to a new and exciting opportunity, as I was asked to serve as the new Artistic Director of Hungary’s leading new music ensemble UMZE.
http://www.umze.hu
I am looking forward to working with the musicians, to planning the next season, and of course to conduct exciting concerts in Hungary and abroad.
As I am writing this (the new Royal Crown Lounge at the Amsterdam Airport is beautiful) I am on my way back to the US to wrap up 2018 with a fun NYE Pops show of music by John Williams at the helm of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra.
http://www.hso.org
It is going to be exciting and challenging (as J.W. always is), and we will have many fun surprises for the audience as well.
On January 3 I will be on my way back to Europe. I am conducting the wonderful soprano, Emőke Baráth (last time I worked with her it was Bach’s Magnificat on the program) and a hand-selected expert ensemble in a video recording session (the videos will be available online as soon as possible) of two cantatas by a major Hungarian modern composer, Sándor Szokolay. Before the video recording sessions we will present the two works at the library of the Budapest Music Center as part of the Transparent Sound Festival
http://atlatszohang.hu

Soon 2018 is OUT, and 2019 is IN.
I wish all of my friends a Successful and Happy New Year, and lots of amazing musical experiences!

Most, hogy a tradicionális év végi túlzásba vitt evésen ismét sikeresen túl vagyunk, ideje visszatérni a zenei témákhoz. Még az ünnepek előtt, december 6-án és 7-én a Savaria Szimfonikusok élén vezényeltem egy érdekes magyar műsort, Bartók, Kodály, Viski darabjaival, illetve saját Dűvő című zenekari művemmel. Ez után, de még Karácsony előtt ért a megtisztelő felkérés, hogy legyek a UMZE együttes művészeti vezetője. Az erről (is) szóló interjú itt olvasható:
http://www.papageno.hu
Örömmel és izgalommal várom a művészeti vezetéssel járó feladatokat, és a zenészekkel való közös munkát.
2018-at John Williams zenéjével zárom majd, illetve egy olyan zenekari koncerttel, ahol a Huntsville-i közönséget a zenén kívül még számtalan más (az amszterdami reptéri lounge-ban ebben a pillanatban szólították a pulthoz a Keith Richard nevű utast… Hogy mik vannak!) meglepetés is várja.
http://www.hso.org
Január első két hetében Szokolay Sándor két kantátáját vezényelem majd az Átlátszó Hang fesztiválon. A koncert után videófelvételre is sor kerül majd a BMC-ben. A remek muzsikusokról és a projektről bővebben itt lehet olvasni:
http://atlatszohang.hu
Mindenkinek ez úton is Boldog és Sikerekben Gazdag Új Évet, és persze sok szép zenei élményt kívánok 2019-re is!

Crazy Schedule

Yeah, I know it is the Oscars tonight. I am going to have to read about it in the news this week.

It is true that I don’t shy away from working long hours for an extended period of time. Sometimes, however, the perfect storm happens. Tomorrow and on Tuesday I will be rehearsing with the Hungarian Radio Symphony 10AM-5PM, then at the Liszt Academy for the “Hungarian Late Night” production of the Budapest Opera 6PM-10PM. After the rehearsals I will be working with the musicians of the Hungarian Radio Symphony orchestra at the Budapest Music Center to record my newest composition ‘Alice Etudes’ for clarinet an string quartet. On Wednesday there’s another Radio Symphony rehearsal and the dress rehearsal for the one act operas. Thursday is the day for dress rehearsal and concert with the Radio Symphony. On Friday we premiere the one act operas of the “Hungarian Late Night” production, The second performance is on Saturday.

Looking forward to a wild ride! Wish me luck and check out the following links:

https://www.mrze.hu
https://www.zeneakademia.hu

And this…
Come on Ladies and Gentlemen, somebody please push this over the finish line! 😉
Thanks
https://www.gofundme.hu

Orchestra Tour in Poland

…then there are days when you really don’t have the time to write.

I have just finished my concert with the Hungarian Radio Symphony at the Liszt Academy on November 22 when received a call from the tour manager of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. They were on the road in Poland and the conductor, János Kovács was hospitalized. I agreed to step in after my Eötvös-Bartók performance in Hamburg (November 23) and joined the orchestra in Wroclaw, Poland the next day. We had a one hour acoustical rehearsal at the amazing new concert hall built for the program of “Cultural Capital of Europe, Wroclaw 2016″, and we hit the ground running with the following program:

Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 (Dávid Báll -piano)
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
(Encores: Brahms Hungarian Dance No.1 and Berlioz Rakóczi March)

Thee more concerts followed with great success (and a whole lot of bus riding in between). The Hungarian National Phil musicians and myself were having a ball.

Poland is a lucky country to have so many great, new concert halls. Three out of the four we have performed at were built in the last two years. Among these, the venue for our tour-closing performance was probably the best I have ever performed at (including Disney Hall!). The concert hall of the National Polish Radio Orchestra in Katowice is not only a great work of architecture but also the perfect mix of beauty and functionality with amazing acoustics for symphonic music.

Take a look!
http://nospr.org

This orchestra tour was part of the Hungarian Season in Poland commemorating the 1956 Revolution. Originally Zoltán Kocsis, world famous pianist and music director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic, who just recently passed away, was supposed to conduct all the concerts. We have been performing in his memory as well.

I am back in Hamburg, Germany today. The very last performance of the Eötvös: Senza sangue, Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle production is tomorrow evening at the Staatsoper. The revival is schedueled for February 2018.

Hold Us Up Against Our Sins

‘Father in Heaven!
Hold not our sins up against us
But hold us up against our sins,
So that the thought of Thee should not remind us
Of what we have committed,
But of what Thou didst forgive;
Not how we went astray,
But how Thou didst save us!’

These are the final words of the cantata, “Prayers of Kierkegaard” by Samuel Barber. This piece was started by the composer in 1942, and was finished in 1945 (one of many pieces of art whose birth was delayed by World War II). To my knowledge it has never been performed in Hungary before. If you know otherwise, please send me an email via my website! I paired Barber’s work with one of Zoltán Kodály’s greatest compositions, “Psalmus Hungaricus” (Hungarian Psalm) for tenor solo, children’s choir, chorus and orchestra. There are some amazing musical similarities between these two cantatas. I am wondering if Barber knew or knew of Kodály’s composition, since Psalmus Hungaricus was premiered in 1923 and by the 40s Kodály was a famous and well respected composer all over the world. In any case, ‘Prayers of Kierkegaard’ does sound a bit like an homage to ‘Psalmus’, and Kierkegaard’s intimate and very personal prayers do bring the words of poet-preacher Mihály Kecskeméti Vég to mind. The latter words are from the 1600s. They are a typical example of the practice of interspersing a translation of a psalm (Psalm 55) and touching lamentations that express personal grief and sorrow.
Luther’s original hymn, “Ein feste Burg” (A Mighty Fortress is Our God) completes our Protestant musical journey in an original orchestral setting by Mendelssohn as part of his Symphony #5. The “Reformation Symphony” occupies the entire first half of the concert this Wednesday evening at the Liszt Academy of music with the Children’s Choir, Chorus and Symphony Orchestra of the Hungarian Radio Symphony. Ildikó Szakács and Gyula Rab will sing the solo parts in the second half.

http://www.zeneakademia.hu

Kodaly in The Cold

When 10 ys ago I first conducted the Calgary Philharmonic we played an unusual program: Arvo Part: If Bach Were a Beekeper, Poulenc: Gloria, Gorecki: Third Symphony. I remember all of it. It is interesting to me, too how much I remember of musicians, the hall, downtown restaurants and many more things. A brief interruption aside (got rerouted by Delta which enabled me to get here on time but left my luggage in Minneapolis) I had a nice trip from Huntsville, AL. First time ever I used the on board internet service and got a lot of work done (mostly planning next season and working on programming, answering interview questions via email and other fun stuff), so overall it was good.
This time I get to conduct an entire “Hungarian” program, including Brahms Hungarian Dances, Liszt Rhapsody #2 and Totentanz, Weber: Introduction and Hungarian Rondo (Yes, I have two soloists for this concert, one on the piano, one on the bassoon), Kodaly Galanta Dances and Dohnanyi Symphonic Minutes. Great orchestra, fun program and we are expecting a good size audience.
But here is the thing with Canadian orchestras… For some reason Toronto Symphony, Montreal Opera, the orchestras of Edmonton, Winnipeg and Kitchener Waterloo almost always invite me in the beginning, middle or the end of the coldest Canadian winter. Not complaining, just saying! ☺

See the website of the Calgary Philharmonic here with details about the upcoming concerts:
http://www.cpo-live.com

PS: OK, just to be fair, the sun came out this morning, the weather is sunny and fresh, Weatherman says the temperature will rise as high as 9 Degrees Celsius by tomorrow

Banjo And Paradise

Happy New Year Everyone! I am looking forward to an extremely busy January. My year starts with a historical concert. The “Bela Fleck Banjo Concerto” show with the Huntsville Symphony marks the highest ever single ticket sales for a classical series concert in the history of the orchestra. We are 80 some tickets short of a sell out (we’ve got one more day to go) and we are expecting a great crowd for the Saturday morning open dress rehearsal. On the program (all kind of “folk music-inspired” pieces)
Zoltan Kodaly: Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song (“The Peacock”)
Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico
Bela Fleck: The Impostor (Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra)

Go to Bela’s website to see and hear some of the concerto (recorded with the Nashville Symphony)
http://www.belafleck.com

I am sure the audience is going to stick around for some more of Bela’s solo banjo playing at the end of the concert! Well, yes, and I am glad that the same audience is going to have the chance to listen to Kodaly and Copland.

Right after the concert I am leaving for Budapest, Hungary to dive into an exciting new opera-project. Peter Eotvos (I wrote about him and his 70th Birthday earlier) wrote an opera called Paradise Reloaded (Lilith) which was premiered in Vienna, Austria in October 2013. With the cooperation of MTVA (the mother company of the Hungarian Radio Symphony) and The Palace of The Arts (MUPA) in Budapest we are presenting the Hungarian premiere of the opera as part of the so called “Mini Festival” on January 23. Before the staged performance I get to be the conductor of the first ever studio recording of the opera (sung in German). The story is about Lilith, first wife of Adam (yes, an apocryphal story from biblical times) and the Journey of Adam, Eve with the help of Lucifer. More info here:
http://www.eotvospeter.com

Finnish Depression vs. Hungarian Sadness

Well, it is not really “vs.” rather a nicely balanced program including Bartok: Hungarian Sketches, Sibelius Violin Concerto and Finlandia, and Kodaly: Peacock Variations. I hear it often in the US how Finns and Hungarians are related. I am always asked to tell more about this topic. Indeed there are links between the two (very unique) languages and even some similarities between the cultures. The latter one however I think is the product of history and the turmoil both nations had to go through to become and stay independent. As for the language relation here are some example, first in Finnish, then Hungarian and in English.
menna = megy = go(es)
kasi = kez = hand
kala = hal = fish
There are undeniable similarities here. On the other hand I could only talk to a Finnish person in English. Believe me, I tried.
What about similarities in music? I believe that the program above (my debut concert with the Phoenix Symphony) is a great way to compare three great 20th Century composers, especially these three. Bartok, Kodaly and Sibelius were all influenced by the folk music of their homeland and they all managed to incorporate folk tradition into Western classical music.
When one listens to Sibelius’ powerful Finlandia and the lush melodies of the violin concerto it is easy to understand the “Finnish Soul”. Same thing with Bartok and the way -as we say- “Hungarian are crying as they are partying” (“having fun” in other words). As for “Depression vs. Sadness” goes, it is of course just another catchy title for a blog post. Yet the dark sounds and colors of Sibelius’ music are similar to that of Kodaly’s and Bartok’s. If you know the pieces you know what I am talking about. If you are not familiar with the compositions I am conducting this week, please do check them out!
Here is the website of this week’s violin virtuoso (I had the pleasure to perform Corigliano’s Red Violin Concerto with him a couple of years ago)
Phillipe Quint
http://www.philippequint.com

International Bartok Festival Opening Concert

The last concert of the season for me is coming up at the International Bartok Festival in Szombathely, Hungary.
As a clarinet- and later as a conductor-student I have participated many times at the master courses of this signature new music festival. It was here about 20 years ago when I first met Peter Eotvos.
http://www.eotvospeter.com
I also studied with Gyorgy Kurtag here and listened to lectures of Gyorgy Ligeti.
I was invited as a professor of the conducting master course in 2009 and this summer I am doing the opening concert of the festival with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra as a guest conductor. Live concert broadcast by the Hungarian Radio can be streamed here:
http://www.mr3-bartok.hu

Bartok: Wooden Prince Suite
Ligeti: Mysteries of the Macabre (Bence Horvath -trumpet)
Eotvos: Cello Concerto Grosso (Miklos Perenyi -cello)
Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite

More information about the program of the festival is available here:
http://www.bartokfestival.hu